https://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2018/07/12/jihadi_prisoners_the_fear_of_recidivism_112842.html
On July 16, Djamel Beghal is expected to be released from the Rennes-Vezin prison in the west of France. Beghal is a well-known figure in the European jihadist sphere. Born in Algeria in 1965, he settled in France in 1987. Ten years later, he moved to the United Kingdom with his French wife and their children. In November 2000, the family left for Afghanistan, a country then governed by the Taliban. In July 2001, Beghal was arrested in the United Arab Emirates and later deported to France: He was suspected of plotting a terrorist attack against the Embassy of the United States in Paris. In 2005, he received a 10-year sentence. He was released in 2009 but returned to prison a year later for his involvement in another case.
In prison, Beghal met other inmates, some of them incarcerated on terrorism charges. He allegedly became a mentor for some of them, like Cherif Kouachi and Amedy Coulibaly, who perpetrated terrorist attacks in Paris in January 2015. A few months ago, Algerian authorities warned that they would refuse Beghal’s deportation to Algeria after his release. Following diplomatic negotiations, Algiers’ position seems to have changed. This turnaround is a relief for Paris. Without it, Beghal would have had to stay on French soil under house arrest.
The puzzle of radicalization
Beghal is only the tip of the iceberg. Approximately 500 inmates in French prisons have been condemned or are awaiting trial on terrorism charges. One should also add 1,200 inmates incarcerated for other offenses but who are considered to be radicals. Before the end of 2019, around 50 persons convicted of terrorism and 450 radicals will be released. Most of them are French citizens and cannot be expelled to another country. A recent study published by the French Institute for International Relations focused on a sample of 137 jihadists. Ninety-one percent of them were French, and only 22 percent hold dual citizenship. Homegrown terrorism has become the norm.